Tilt rail suppport for venetian blinds



April 28,1936. M. 1.. WIENER ET-AL 2,038,776

TILT RAIL SUPPORT FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Original Filed April 27, 1955 ENeZsgn .Q$%

M L. Wiejzer I Patented Apr. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE .Martin L. Wiener and Walter F. Nelsen, San

'Leandro, Calif., assignors to Ry-Lock Company 'Ltd., San Leandro. Calif.

Original application April 27, 1935, vSerial No.

18,552. Divided and this application November ,2, 1935, Serial No. 47,980

6 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to venetianblinds and is directed specifically to a central support for a venetian blind tiltrail. This case is a divisional application of our pending application for U. S.

Letters Patent on Venetian blind. control mechanism, Serial #18,552, filed April 27, 1935.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a central support for a Venetian blind tilt rail constructed so as to be releasably connected to the adjacent head rail of the blind.

Another object of this invention is to provide a supporting plate on the head rail for the upper end of the supporting link and which supporting plate will be inconspicuous but will permit of ready and rapid disconnection of said supporting link therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly efiective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects we accomplish my means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a. perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a venetian blind partly broken away to illustrate our improved center support for the tilt rail.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the supporting plate.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the supporting link.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, the numeral l denotes a Venetian blind head rail adapted to be mounted on a window casing in any usual manner. Mounted beneath the head rail is a tilt rail 2 from which are suspended the slat supporting ladder 40 tapes 3 in the customary manner.

The tilt rail 2 is made up of two separate sections of rail, which are spaced apart a short distance at their adjacent ends and which are secured together in such relation by a metal plate 4. Suitable means such as screws 5 are used to attach the plate 4 to the lower faces of the adjacent sections of the tilt rail. This structure allows the tilt rail to be formed of two relatively short pieces of wood.

A connecting link 6, as shown in Figure 3, is drilled at its lower end as at 1 for the reception, in rotatable relation, of a steel dowel 8 which is doweled into the adjacent ends of the tilt rail and lies in the axis of rotation thereof.

The upper end of the supporting link 6, which extends above the rail sections, is formed with-a rectangular, vertically elongated slot 9. This permits said end of the link 6 to releasablyengage over a horizontal finger l0, having an upturned end Illa, extending into an opening H formed in a supporting plate l2 countersunk in the under face of the head rail as illustrated in Figure 1. A recess I3 is, of course, formed in the head rail above the opening in plate l2, in order that the upper end of the supporting link 6 may pass therethrough and engage over the upturned end Illa of the finger and then engage with and be supported from the finger In; the rectangular slot 9 in the upper end of the link being of sufficient size to allow the link to engage or be removed from the finger by an upward, followed by a lateral, shifting movement of said link.

In use, the supporting link 6, mounted as hereinbefore described, prevents sagging of the tilt rail, which would otherwise be caused by the 20 weight of the blind which is suspended from said rail.

However, when a tilt rail center support is employed, there must he means provided whereby the supporting link may be disconnected from 25 one of the rails in order that the tilt rail and attached blind may be removed from the remainder of the blind assembly for the purpose of cleaning or repair. To accomplish this result, we have provided the exceedingly simple 30 and inconspicuous device, as above described, by means of which the supporting link can be quickly attached to or detached from the head rail.

In the construction shown, the tilt rail is made of two sections. However, for an extra wide window requiring a correspondingly long rail, or where it is desired to utilize short strips of wood, the rail may be made up of more than two sections, with supporting links between adjacent ends of adjacent sections. 40

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a Venetian blind, a head rail, a tilt rail, a link pivoted at its lower end to the tilt rail 55 and means detachably suspending the link from the head rail and including a horizontal finger mounted on the head rail in clearance relation to the under face of the same; the link having aslot inthe upper end thereof adapted to re ceive said finger'therethrough.

2. In a Venetian blind, -a head rail, a tilt rail, a link pivoted at its lower end to the tilt, rail and having a slot formed in its upper end, said rslot being elongated longitudinally'of the link,

a horizontal finger mounted on the head rail in clearance relation to the under face thereof, the outer end of the finger being upturned to a lesser height than the link opening whereby the upturned end may be projected through the slot in the upper end of thelink and the link suspended from the finger. I

3. In a Venetian blind, a head rail, a tilt rail, a link pivoted at its lower end to the tilt rail and having an opening toward its upper end, a horizontal plate fixed to the head rail above the link and having a, longitudinally elongated opening therein of suificient width to receive the I upper end of the link therethrough, and a fin ger formed with the plate and projecting into the opening from one end and adapted to proing.

ject through the slot in the upper end of the link. 4. A device as in claim 3 in which the slot in the upper end of the link is vertically elongated and in which the outer end of the finger is upturned at its outer end; said upturned portion'being of a lesser height than the link open- 5. A device as in claim 3 in which the plate is countersunk in the under face of the head rail and the rail is formed with a recess adjacent the opening in the plate. 6. In a'Venetian blind, a tilt rail, an upstand-' ing link pivoted on the tilt rail, the link having an elongated vertically extending opening toward its upper end, a horizontal plate fixed above the rail and having a longitudinallyrelongated opening therein of sufficientwidth to receive the upper end of the link therethrough and a member to engage the link opening formed with the plate and projecting into the opening from one end thereof, said member comprising a horizontal finger having its outer end upturned to a lesser height than'the link opening.

MARTIN L. WIENER. WALTER F. NELSEN. 

